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With Rep. Boustany re-elected, what's next on the congressional scene?: John Maginnis

U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. hugs voter Sedrick Ned in Lafayette after receiving news of his re-election Dec. 8. Boustany won a fifth term on Saturday by handily defeating his fellow Republican incumbent, Jeff Landry, in a runoff election.
(Photo by AP Photo/Allyce Andrew, The Advertiser)

Mercifully for voters who had been through enough already, the runoff in the 3rd Congressional District, won by Rep. Charles Boustany over Rep. Jeff Landry, was waged with far less of the rancor and venom that marred the primary. It may be that the two Acadiana Republican incumbents, pitted against each other by redistricting, could see what was coming down the stretch.

Polls showed Democrats, not surprisingly, moving in droves to the more moderate Boustany, who ran well with Republicans too.

The Boustany-Landry election turned out to be the most expensive U.S. House campaign in state history, with about $6 million spent between the two, not counting independent expenditures by outside PACs. Having won 60 percent of votes in his redrawn congressional district, Boustany, 56, likely has a safe seat for as long as he wants to keep it.

The race in the 3rd also was the last congressional election in the country decided in this cycle. The next cycle has begun, starting with fundraising, which never ends.

One member has won his next election already. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Metairie, pulled an upset by winning the chairmanship of the Republican Study Committee, a coalition of more conservative members within the GOP Caucus. The more moderate of the two finalists, Scalise was not anointed by the group's founders and past chairman, but he flat out-campaigned his rival. Sensing the post-election change of attitude among conservatives, Scalise presented himself as one who would work more closely with Speaker John Boehner.

It also helped that he was the nicer guy. As aggressive as he is on policy disputes, Scalise doesn't let political differences get in the way of friendships with colleagues, even Democrats. Should the 47-year-old choose to make a career in the House, he might lead it one day.

Rep. Cedric Richmond of New Orleans, the lone Democrat of Louisiana's House delegation, displayed star power before his first term even began. He was among eight finalists nominated for "Hottest Freshman" by the Huffington Post two years ago. He was not chosen -- probably good for him -- but gained greater acclaim as the winning pitcher for the House Democrats in their annual baseball games with Republicans (for whom Scalise played shortstop). At 39, Richmond's career in the House could last longer than his time on the mound -- and so, strengthening his clout and his policy chops will be top priorities for his second term.

Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman, the dean of the delegation and its only member on the House Appropriations Committee, is finishing a challenging term in which earmarks were banned and his taste for pork made the former Democrat suspect among fiscal conservatives. But with the purist movement on the wane and despite the fiscal cliff, he looks to some luster returning to the money committees. Starting his fifth term, Alexander, 66, who has been mentioned for governor in 2015 -- who hasn't been? -- has to decide how long he will stay this course in Washington.

Most likely to be starting his final term in the House is Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, who has said he will explore challenging Sen. Mary Landrieu in 2014. There are a bunch of medical doctors in Congress, but Cassidy, 55, might be the only one still practicing part-time in a public hospital, which affords him credibility in all quarters on the health care issue.

Once he becomes better known around the state, Cassidy would be a serious Republican candidate for the Senate, but will he be the only one? Rep. John Fleming, R-Minden, another medical doctor, might take umbrage at being passed over by the GOP establishment. Said establishment made that mistake in 2008 in underestimating the deep-pocketed, determined outsider, who, now 61, could be ready to make an up-or-out move.

Finally, even as he packs up his Capitol Hill office, we likely have not heard the last from Jeff Landry. No one in Acadiana seriously believes the 41-year-old won't run for something else, and soon. The race for district attorney in Iberia Parish in 2014 is a possibility. But the bolder move would be to jump into a crowded Senate race and to run hard to the right. At this point, no one should expect anything but the unexpected.

John Maginnis is an independent journalist covering Louisiana politics. He can be reached at www.LaPolitics.com.